Planting volunteers needed for restoration project

By Michael Miller

Palmetto Bay resident Ruben Perez is pictured at the Village’s first-ever Independence Day celebration on July 4th.

Got a green thumb? Live in Palmetto Bay or Cutler Bay? We hear from Sarah V. Martin, Field Biologist and Pine Rockland Initiative Program Coordinator of The Institute for Regional Conservation, that volunteers are needed to help with some planting out at the migratory bird habitat restoration project in the two bay cities. Work is being done to conserve local coastal prairie, mangrove forest, pine rockland and rockland hammock.

“We will be planting native grasses and seedlings in a coastal prairie ecosystem we are working to restore, as well as other habitat restoration activities,” Sarah tells us, and she hopes you can help.

“We will provide drinking water and snacks, but be sure to bring sunscreen, sunglasses, hat, long pants, closed-toed shoes and anything else you may need for the day.”

There are two Saturday workdays for the project, on July 26th and August 2nd, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days. Volunteers are asked to meet at the Palmetto Bay Village Center at SW 184th Street and Old Cutler Road. There’ll be a sign directing people where to park the day of the event. To sign up, or if you need more info, you can contact Sarah at 305-505-9192 or by email at martin@regionalconservation.org. The Institute’s website is at www.regionalconservation.org.

Candidates to speak… Steve Zarzecki of The Concerned Citizens of Cutler Bay tells us that his organization is hosting the second of their four Candidate Forums to be conducted this year. This one brings together all the candidates for Miami-Dade County Commission District 8 race to discuss the issues and answer questions. It takes place on Tuesday, August 5, from 7-9 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of the Cutler Ridge United Methodist Church, located at 20740 Old Cutler Road in Cutler Bay. Admission is free. Coffee and donuts will be served. This is a good opportunity to get to know the candidates and be better informed by the time county elections roll around next month. Steve is inviting all who are interested to attend the meeting. His group is a non-profit civic organization whose purpose is “Promote Community Awareness and Citizen Involvement.” For more information, call Steve at 305-255-4351.

Cutler Bay ranked #7 in state for growth. We hear that a group called NerdWallet has done a “Cities On The Rise” study of 147 cities in the state of Florida, analyzing population growth, job growth and income growth from 2009 to 2012 in U.S. Census Bureau data and has declared that the Town of Cutler Bay is number 7 in the ranking, which has town officials happy. The top-ten list was revealed as added proof that the Sunshine State’s economy is doing better. Cutler Bay placed after (in reverse order) Clearwater, Doral, Dunedin, West Little River, Parkland and Pine Hills, which was #1. Oddly, the Village of Palmetto Bay was ranked way down the list at #118. You can check out the website and study results here: www.nerdwallet.com/blog/cities/economics/citieson-therise-florida.